Weekly Video Address — August 25, 2017

This week, Rhode Island’s Director of the Department Labor and Training (DLT) Scott Jensen delivers the Governor’s Weekly Video Address. Under Scott’s direction, DLT launched the Real Jobs Rhode Island initiative which provides Rhode Islanders access to the training they need to get the jobs that Rhode Island companies need to fill. The program is helping businesses like Electric Boat hire welders and other people with advanced manufacturing skills, and it’s helping incumbent employees learn new skills so they can stay competitive in a changing economy.

Because of programs like Real Jobs Rhode Island, our economy is on the move. Since Governor Gina Raimondo took office, the state has created nearly 17,000 new jobs and our job count is the highest it has ever been. In fact, the three best months for jobs in Rhode Island on record are May, June and July of this year. Since January of 2015, we’ve cut our unemployment rate by more than a third, and for seven straight months, our labor force has expanded.

There’s a lot of work left to do to ensure that every middle class Rhode Island family has economic security. Thanks to Governor Raimondo’s focus on job training and her creative efforts to help incumbent workers learn new skills, Rhode Island has a strong foundation to build on.

Click here to watch Scott’s message and read the full transcript below. Subscribe to the Governor’s YouTube channel to watch all Weekly Video Addresses.

Hi. I’m Scott Jensen, the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.

Rhode Island’s economy is on the move, and there’s a lot of momentum right now. Since Governor Raimondo has taken office, we’ve added nearly 17,000 jobs, including thousands in construction. Our unemployment rate, which was the highest in America the year before she took office, has been at or below the national average since the start of this year. Our labor force has grown each of the last seven months. And there are cranes in downtown Providence, a visible sign that middle class men and women are on the job.

That’s progress. But things are tough out there.

A lot of middle class Rhode Islanders I’ve talked to still worry that they job they’ve gotten might not be there in a month or a year. Others worry that their cost of living will increase more quickly than their wages if they don’t improve their skills.

But at the same time companies in Rhode Island worry they can’t find the folks they need to compete in an increasingly competitive economy. Nothing is more important to businesses we’ve worked with than the right people on their team.

With the Governor’s leadership and in partnerships with employers and our schools, we’re doing something about these worries. In Rhode Island, workforce development and job training is economic development.

Our Real Jobs Rhode Island program helps new and mid-career workers develop the specific, 21st century skills they need to compete for good jobs with established Rhode Island companies — and to stay competitive even as the economy changes. Since we launched this program in 2015 — just months after the Governor took office — we’ve set up 34 partnerships with hundreds of employers, and have placed or upskilled over a thousand Rhode Islanders into companies in most vibrant parts of our state’s economy — advanced manufacturing, banking, defense and even oyster farming!

I’ve met countless people through this program who have told me they felt trapped in a dead-end, low-paying job before starting their training. And now, they’re working with companies like Electric Boat, earning a family-supporting wage with benefits.

And through a partnership with TechHire, Rhode Islanders are able to develop the high-demand coding and computer skills that the tech industry demands. TechHire wouldn’t be in Rhode Island without Governor Raimondo’s advocacy. With partnership like that, we’ve given companies like General Electric and Johnson & Johnson a reason to take a fresh look at Rhode Island. And they’ve hired Rhode Islanders through this program. On September 9, TechHire — along with Opportunity at Work — will host Jobs Day. For more information, visit Opportunity at Work dot org.

The jobs count in Rhode Island is at an all time high. In fact, the top three months for job count in Rhode Island history are July 2017, May 2017 and June 2017, respectively.

That’s a big deal. It’s something to be proud of. But it doesn’t mean we can let up. You don’t win just because you scored some points. Governor Raimondo and her entire team will stay laser focused to ensure that every Rhode Islander has access to the education and job training they need to get a good-paying job here in Rhode Island, and that every company has the employees they need to compete. Easy to say, hard to do. But together we’re gonna get it done.

Thanks, and have a great weekend.